Adjustable strap and buckle therefor



July 11, 1944. P. w. WHITE- ADJUSTABLE STRAP AND BUCKLE THEREFOR FiledJune 2'7, 1942 Patented, July 11, 1944 ADJUSTABLE STRAP AND BUCKLE lTHEREFOR .Paul W. White, Waterbury, -Cnn., assignor to Parva ProductsCompany, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Delaware Application June27,1942', Serial No. 448,807

4 Claims. (01.:2-340) This invention relates to adjustable. straps, moreparticularly to adjustable suspenders com- :prising straps andcooperating one-piece lbuckles therefor, and the invention has for anobject the provision of an improved adjustable suspender of thischaracter.

Suspender straps have heretofore been provided wherein adjustability isachieved by the provision of a one-piece buckle construction, but sucharrangements have not been entirely satisfactory due to the fact thatsuch buckles have been found to have either a tendency to slip whentension is applied to the Suspender strap or to clamp the strap so.tightly that adjustment thereof is so difficult as to beunsatisfactory.

These difficulties arise due to the fact that the.

one-piece buckles heretofore provided havenot been universallyapplicable to straps of different thickness, the clamping and adjustmentaction of such buckles being dependent entirely upon the manner in whichthe strap is threaded through the buckle, and the resulthas been thatwhen applied to. thin straps excessive slipping has been encountered,while when applied to thick straps adjustment ofthe suspend'er" strap toform a small attaching loop which encircles one or more bars of thebuckle so that a portion of the attaching 1001p passes in front ofalternate bars and rearwardly of an intermediate bar.-

The front" strand of the adjusting loop is threaded through the buckleso as to overlie the portions of the attaching loop which pass in frontof the alternate bars and to underlie the portion of the attaching loopwhich passes behind the intermediate bar. The front strand of the loopis thus interposed between the intermediate bar and the attaching loopand upon the application of tension to the strap is urged tightlyagainst this intermediate bar so as to clamp the strap in adjustedpositions. The suspender strap after passing in front of the upper'oneof the abovehas been too difiicult for satisfactory commer-' cial use.Consequently, itis a. further object of this invention to provide anadjustable Suspender construction wherein the. strap cooperates with.

a one-piece buckle which is. properly designed for cooperation with thestrap to provide satis factory clamping. and adjusting characteristicsregardless of the thicknessof the strap.

In carrying out the invention in one form, a

one-piece buckle comprising four spaced-apart cross bars is provided,which cross bars define strap receiving slots therebetween. The suspender is of the usual type comprisinga pair: of straps adapted to passover the shoulders of the user and either cross or be connected by crossmembers for attachment to thebackot the garment. The ,front end of eachsuspender strap is in the usual case looped mponitself to form anadjusting loop, the closed end; of which passes through a ring, whichring is attachable to the garment. The freeend of the strap is attachedto the adjusting buckle which cooperates withan intermediate portion ofthe strap of this invention is so associated with the strap;

that the free end of the back' strand of .the adjustingloopqis loopedupon itself and secured cross bar 18 as shown besti n Fig. 3, with bothreferred-t0 alternate cross bars passes rearwardly of the uppermostcrossbar so as to provide a neat and finished appearance to the bucklewhen the strap is threaded therethrough.

For a more complete understanding of the invention reference should nowbe had to the drawing, in which Figure 1 is a front elevational view ofone end of a suspender strap embodying the present invention andillustrating a one-piece buckle associated with the strap;

Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of a portion of the, Suspender strapand buckle shown in Fig.

Land

Fig. 3 is an enlarged sectional view taken substantially along thevertical center line of Fig. 1.

Referring now to the drawing, there is shown.

tively, of an adjusting loop. The ring 12 may be attached to the garmentto Ibe supported in any desired' manner and may. be of any suitableconstruction. It is shown in the drawing asbe I ing a three-bar ringhaving side bars l5 and 16 connected by cross bars I1, l3 and 19. Thesuspender strap is looped about the intermediate strands of the looppassing rearwardly of the upper cross bar ll. Associated with the lowercross bar .19 is a pair of attaching elements 20 such as are commonlyprovided in. suspenders of the general type to which this invention isapplicable.

The one-piece suspender buckle comprises a frame having side bars 2|connected by four spaced-apart cross bars 22, 23, 24 and 25 which definestrap receiving slots therebetween identified in Fig. 3 ,by thereference numerals 26, 21 and 28, respectively.

In order to enhance the appearance of the buckle, the side bars 2| aregiven the arcuate;

configuration shown, and the upper end cross bar 25 is cut away toprovide a sloping rear surface so that the strap It] may lie therebehindWithout bulging rearwardlyof the buckle. Similarly, and for theadditional purpose of providing proper gripping of the strap, theintermediate cross bars 24 and 25 .are cut back on their oppositesurfaces to permit a portion of the suspender straps threadedtherearound to lie at'least partially within the confines of the sidebars of the buckle. The mannerin which the suspender strap is associatedwith and threaded through the'buckle insures that a proper gripping orclamping action will be obtained and that ease of adjustment will beprovided regardless of the thickness of the strap.

As shown best in Fig. 3, the back strand of the adjusting loop portionof the suspender strap is looped upon itself and secured, as for exampleby sewing at the points indicated by the reference numeral 29, toprovide a small attaching loop having a, back portion 30 and a frontportion 3|. The front portion of this attaching loop extends in front ofthe cross bar 24, through the slot 21, in back of the cross bar throughthe slot 26 and in front of the cross bar 22, while the back portion 36of the attaching loop extends in back of the cross bars 24, 23 and 22 soas effectively to conceal these bars and prevent contact thereof withthe body or underlying garments of the wearer. The rear portion 39 ofthe attaching loop may, if desired, pass through the slot 26 along withthe portion 3| so that both portions of the attaching loop lie in frontof the lower' cross bar 22. Such an arrangement, however; would to someextent increase the bulging at the front face of the buckle and wouldalso leave the rear surface of the cross bar 22 exposed to view.

, The front strand of the adjusting 'loop as shown best in Fig. 3 isthreaded through the slots 26, 2'! and 28 in alternate directions sothat the front strand 3 overlies the'attaching loop in front of the bars22 and 24, that is, the front portion 3| of the attaching loop liesbetween the front strand l3 and the bars 22 and 24, and the frontstrandI3 overlies the portion 3|] of the attaching loop in back of the crossbar 23 so as to lie between the portion 3| and the cross bar 23.Furthermore the strand |3 lies in back of the upper cross bar 25, thusto provide a finished appearance to the buckle and strap combination andto insure that the front strand i3 closely overlies the cross bar 24 andthe portionof the attaching loop which encircles this cross bar.

The strap receiving slots 26, 21 and 28 are of sufficient width topermit the strap ID to be readily drawn therethrough' when it is desiredto adjust the length" of the adjusting loop formed by the strands I3 andI4, but when tension is applied to the suspender strap the front portion3| of the attaching loop is caused to that this portion 3| passes infront of the cross bars 22 and 24, and such movement of the portion 3|is effective to urge the overlying portion of the front strand l3against the rear surface of the cross bar 23. Thus the front strand |3of the strap I0 is tightly clamped between the portion 3| of theattaching loop and the cross bar 23. Further clamping action is ofcourse obtained due to the fact that the strand I3v is considerablydeformed from a straight path through the buckle and due to theadditional fact that a considerable portion of this move toward thecross bar 23 due to the fact strand l3 overlies in frictional relationthe front portion 3| of the attaching loop. Thus there is provided aone-piece four-bar suspender buckle which, when properly associated withthe suspender strap, provides for secure and firm gripping of the strapin adjusted positions upon the application of tension thereto and at thesame time permits ready adjustment of the strap relative to the buckle;

While a particular embodiment of the invention has been shown, it willbe understood, of course, that the invention is not limited theretosince many modifications may be made, and it is therefore contemplatedby the appended claims to cover any such modifications as fall withinthe true spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. In an adjustable suspender of the type comprising a strap having oneend attachable to a garment and the other end looped upon itself to formthe front and back strands of an adjusting loop, and a ring attachableto the garment having a slot for receiving the portion of said strapconnecting said front and back strands at one end of said loop; thecombination of a buckle for adjustably connecting the front and backstrands at the other end of said loop comprising a one-piece framehaving spaced apart upper and lower end cross bars and upper and lowerintermediate cross bars defining strap receiving slots therebetween;said back strand of said loop encircling said upper intermediate andsaid lower end cross bars and being secured upon itself to form anattaching loop; said front strand being threaded through said frame soas to pass alternately in front and in back of said cross bars foradjusting movement through said slots; the threaded portion of saidfront strand passing between said lower intermediate cross bar and saidattaching loop of said back strand whereby said front strand is clampedtherebetween when tension is applied to said strap.

2. In an adjustable suspender of the type comprising a strap having oneend attachable to a garment and the other end looped upon itself to formthe front and back strands of an adjusting loop, and a ring attachableto the garment having a slot for receiving the portion of said strapconnecting said front and back strands at one end of said loop; thecombination of a buckle for adjustably connecting the front and backstrands at the other end of said loop comprising a one-piece framehaving spaced apart upper and lower end cross bars and upper and lowerintermediate cross bars defining strap receiving slots therebetween;said back strand of said loop encircling said upper intermediate andsaid lower end cross bars and being secured upon itself to form anattaching loop; said front strand being threaded through said frame soas to pass alternately in front and in back of said cross bars foradjusting movement through said slots; the

threaded portion of said front strand passing between said lowerintermediate cross bar and said attaching loop of said back strand, thefront surfaces of said lower end and upper intermediate cross bars beingdisposed forwardly of the back surface of said lower intermediate crossbar. to cause the front portion of said attaching loop to move towardsaid lower intermediate cross bar and clamp said front strandthereagainst when tension is applied to said strap.

3. In an adjustable suspender of the type com-' prising a strap havingone end attachable to a garment and the other end looped upon itself toform the front and back strands of an adjusting loop, and a ringattachable to the garment having a slot for receiving the portion ofsaid strap connecting said front and back strands at one end of saidloop; the combination of a buckle for adjustably connecting the frontand back strands at the other end of said loop comprising a one pieceframe having four spaced apart cross bars defining strap receiving slotsin said frame; said back strand of said loop being looped and se curedupon itself to form an attaching loop hav ing a front portion extendingin front of a first one of said bars, in back of a second one of saidbars and in front of a third one of said bars; said front strand of saidadjusting loop being threaded through said slots to overlie said frontportion of said attaching loop in front of said first and third bars andto overlie said front portion in back of said second bar; said frontstrand passing in back of the fourth one of said cross bars; said frontportion of saidattaching loop upon the application of tension to saidstrap urging said overlying portion of said front strand against theback of said second 'bar to clamp said strap in adjusted position, saidfront strand upon the release of said tension being readily movablethrough said slots to adjust said adjusting loop.

4. In an adjustable suspender of the type comprising a strap having oneend attachable to a garment and the other end looped upon itself to formthe front and back strands of an adjusting loop, and a ring attachableto the garment having a slot for receiving the portion of said strapconnecting said front and back strands at one end of said loop; thecombination of a buckle for adjustably connecting the front and backstrands at. the other end of said loop comprising a onepiece framehaving four spaced apart cross bars defining strap receiving slots insaid frame; said back strand of said loop being looped and secured uponitself to form an attaching loop having a front portion extending infront of a first one of said bars, in back of a second one of said barsand in front of a third one of said bars; said front strand of saidadjusting loop being threaded through said slots to overlie said frontportion of said attaching loop in front of said first and third bars andto overlie said front portion in back of said second bar; said frontstrand passing in back of the fourth one of said cross bars; the frontsurfaces of said first and third cross bars being disposed forwardly ofthe back surface of said second cross bar to cause said front portion ofsaid attaching loop to move toward said second cross bar upon theapplication of tension to said strap and clamp said front strand of saidadjusting loop against said second bar.

PAUL W. WHITE.

